Malcolm Fox and his team are back, investigating whether fellow cops covered up for Detective Paul Carter. Carter has been found guilty of misconduct, but what should be a simple job is soon complicated by a brutal murder and a weapon that should not even exist. A trail of revelations leads Fox back to 1985, a year of desperate unrest when letter-bombs and poisonous spores were sent to government offices, and kidnappings and murders were plotted. But while the body count rises the clock starts ticking, and a dramatic turn of events sees Fox in mortal danger.

Journal Entry 2 by Plum-crazy at BCUK Unconvention 2013 in Leeds, West Yorkshire United Kingdom on Saturday, September 14, 2013

Released 4 yrs ago (9/27/2013 UTC) at BCUK Unconvention 2013 in Leeds, West Yorkshire United Kingdom

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

To be released onto the buffet table at the BCUK Unconvention. If it's not picked up by a bookcrosser it will be released into the wild when we undertake our release walk......wherever you found it please let us know it's safe with you :o)

Released as part of the SEPTEMBER SAPPHIRE Challenge (#39)

Journal Entry 3 by earthcaroleanne at Leeds, West Yorkshire United Kingdom on Tuesday, October 01, 2013

Picked this up from the book buffet on the Leeds Unconvention.

Journal Entry 4 by earthcaroleanne at Falkirk, Scotland United Kingdom on Wednesday, April 12, 2017

I read this thinking it was the first book in the series and it certainly read like it could have been but it’s the second so I don’t think the story suffered because of that. Fox is an excellent character to compete with Rebus. Fans of Ian Rankin may have been disappointed when the free-wheeling anarchic Inspector Rebus was replaced with “by the book” Fox. But to be honest I get a bit fed up when we get another alcoholic detective with personal/family problems, ie Rebus, Hole, Morse, Banks, Wallander. It doesn’t always detract from the story but it’s getting predictable. However Fox is already showing us a devious side. He wants to get at the truth and knows that he will have to cut a few corners…..

The Impossible Dead is a thoroughly enjoyable read. The characters are strong and well drawn (especially the police) and the whole thing moves at a great pace. The plot is intricate and reaches back into Scottish political history. I don’t remember much about the short period in the eighties when Scottish nationalism turned briefly into terrorism which is the time is used for the main strand of the book. Rankin shows the contrast of those days, when fervent nationalists felt the democratic process held no hope for them, to the Scotland of today, with its devolved government, more confident and comfortable in its skin, with nationalism a question to be debated rather than won by force. And currently being debated again. I also enjoyed being taken on a journey through Edinburgh, Stirling, St Andrews and Fife, areas I know very well.